Author: debbiekilbride

As someone who has worked with children, young people and adults in a range of educational settings, I have come to understand the need for a positive representation of diversity. We strive for what we might term as ‘full inclusion’ and I see the increased labeling of our society as consistent with a need for increased understanding about what these labels mean; not in an explicit way but in a general desire to represent the diversity of our society. I see the medium for part of this as being children and young adults’ literature as it is during their time at school that they are developing social relationships with their diverse communities.

My position as a Primary school teacher meant I played an influential role in many pupil’s lives and when I became a Special Educational Needs Coordinator later in my career, I played an even more crucial part in developing the inclusive environment. One aspect of my responsibility was to work on a one to one basis with pupils who were not achieving age related expectations in reading and writing. I brought in a new reading scheme, designed for pupils in Key Stage 2, advertised as having ‘cool illustrations, chunked texts and a special dyslexic-friendly font. However, I did not look beyond the fact that they were designed to accelerate reading progress at the actual type and depiction of characters and how representative they may or may not have been of the diversity in society. For such an important part of each pupil’s daily session with me, I was missing the opportunity to deliver implicit messages about difference.

So I thought about this and over the years have become more and more interested, especially since having a son and looking at the vast selection of books given to/loaned/handed down to him since birth up to now (he’s currently 2!). I looked at some relevant research and wasn’t surprised to find that, historically, disabled characters have been depicted as literary symbols or seen to assist the moral development of other characters that have more significant roles in the story (Dyches and Prater, 2000). More recently, looking at the results from Dyches, Prater and Leininger’s (2009) analysis of 41 books, there were positive results of increased characterisations seen to be more positive and inclusionary than previous analyses. Whilst this is encouraging, Hodkinson’s (2016, p.12) conclusions that a reading scheme used in his son’s school serves to ‘seemingly only continue to perpetuate the image of a homogeneous, normalised and ‘ableist’ society’ is a reminder that more focus on the kinds of fictional texts that our pupils are reading in schools today is required.

So what of the reasons for developing and reading inclusionary literature? Some motives are seen by Miller (2012/13) as being linked to increasing tolerance of difference and is in opposition to the ways in which portrayal of difference is seen in textbooks that are akin to a more medicalised view. Similarly, Wopperer (2011) cites reasons for why we should have fictional characters with disabilities and adds that it is as a way of helping young people to make sense of their world by relating to these characters; individuals without a disability can learn how they feel about individuals with a disability and in turn enhance social connections.

This discussion around including characters who have a special educational need (SEND) can be likened to Norwich’s (2008) notion of ‘dilemmas of difference’ posing the question; will portrayal of characters with SEND emphasise difference and thus perpetuate segregation? Everyday social experiences show us that we are all different and therefore using children’s literature as the medium through which to do this makes sense from an inclusive pedagogic viewpoint. After all, children’s literature is a powerful medium through which one makes sense of the world (Hunt, 2001).

What were you reading throughout your education and what are your children reading?

Reference List

Dyches, T. T., and M. A. Prater. 2000. Developmental Disability in Children’s Literature: Issues and Annotated Bibliography. Reston, VA: The Division on Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children.

My prior teaching experience in a mainstream primary school eventually led me to the role of Inclusion Manager which I found to be a rewarding, if challenging role, and a highlight of my career. I am now fortunate enough to be the programme leader and tutor for our new postgraduate course at The University of East London, which leads to the National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordinator.

Having returned from maternity leave ready for a new challenge (having a baby was clearly not enough!), I jumped right in and am now teaching an incredible group of teachers who I look forward to seeing each week, partly due to their honesty about the roles they have in their settings but also because I see first hand, the camaraderie that has developed amongst them for what they do. It made me reflect on my time as an Inclusion Manager and I recalled it to be initially rather isolating, mainly as I was based in a completely separate demountable classroom, accessed through a locked gate from the school! Hardly inclusive! On a more positive note, after around 10 months I was moved into an office in the actual school which luckily had enough space to work with a very small group of children as well as house all my resources and meet with parents (as long as there weren’t too many attendees!). I finally felt included.

Considering the nature of the role, you hold a unique position in the school, typically there is one SENCo in a setting, or in larger schools, especially secondary schools, there is a team of people working as a SEND team, but there is still one named person responsible for ensuring they meet the needs of their children and young people with SEND. It is also common for the role to be assumed by a member of the leadership team, be it a head or deputy head teacher, some who are currently taking the course. However, for those teachers who are not a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), can the expectations of being a strategic leader be fulfilled? Is there a mismatch in Government policy and the reality of the day-to-day demands of the SENCo role? There may well be difficulties for the SENCo who is passionate about inclusive practice but is not confident to lead a team, lead change across the whole school, manage aspects of whole school change. Tissot’s (2013) work discusses the Government’s vision of SENCOs as strategic leaders and the challenge to carry out this role effectively if their post does not support this. ‘The lack of SENCOs on leadership teams is stifling the vision of the role as well as its implementation in practice’ (Tissot, 2013, p.39). Nonetheless, there are SENCOs on the course who are not on the SLT but who do feel empowered to be a strategic leader, so is it more to do with the ethos of the school and the culture of leadership within?

My final thoughts will reflect on what the SENCo award does for our students. As I stated at the beginning, an overwhelming theme that the students mention is the value they place on coming together as a group of local SENCos, creating a ready made support network. For example, our Waltham Forest group take lunch together in a local café and discuss the challenges and successes of their responsibilities, share good practice and simply enjoy the time out of their busy schedules to reflect on what they are doing, see what others are doing and take back new ideas to their schools. Of course there is a lot of learning in the taught sessions too, we don’t just ‘do lunch’! Our taught sessions include broad and deep discussion around aspects of the SENCo position, focusing on theoretical understanding of inclusion, discussing research, exploring the new Code of Practice and interpreting Government policy.

The programme’s new intake for 2016/17 is enrolling now so if you are a qualified teacher who is either already a SENCo or holding SEND responsibilities, please do get in touch with any queries you may have. Alternatively, follow the link below to find out more about the course on our UEL website.